Chapter 21
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***
This Chapter picks the story back up from when Alex left Chuck's body back on Earth.
***
When Alex reappeared in the white space, the old man was ready and waiting for him.
"Welcome back. How did your soul searching go?" The old man asked with a grin as he gestured with his hand for Alex to approach.
[Is this for real? Is he actually happy to see me? We didn't enter the wrong dimension did we?] Alex asked Angel.
["Don't keep him waiting. You should walk over to him."] She replied.
As Alex walked forward the old man raised his other hand with his palm facing Alex and froze him in place.
[What's going on? Why can't I move? What's he doing to me?] Alex could only voice out his concerns inside his head but even Angel seemed to be frozen.
"I'll just tinker with your soul a little." The old man said before he noticed the worried look in Alex's eyes and laughed.
"Relax, I am only beginning the process of purifying and reinforcing your soul." The old man saw the anxiety on Alex's face and began to tell him about the bigger picture as he worked.
"I should probably teach you a bit about what to expect in your future as a demigod. As you have probably already guessed, the world you knew as Earth is but one planet among many. You have been to many different worlds and seen some interesting things right?" He said as if he was remembering something from a very long time ago that evoked a quaint feeling.
"This may not make much sense to you yet, but listen and try your best to absorb what I'll be telling you." The old man stopped to peer at Alex as if checking for his understanding before he continued.
"There are many beings out there that a mortal man could call a god. Some gods have taken a planet for themselves and claim dominion over all the souls that reside on it. Others build their own domains and create artificial souls or import natural souls from elsewhere to populate their fabricated plane of existence. If it helps you understand, you could assign levels or ranks to these dimensions. If you take Earth as the base or ground level domain then a god such as me could create another realm that hangs over Earth but as a separate connected dimension. Really, I could create a domain however I wished on Earth."
The old man gestured to the blank space surrounding them.
"In fact, this white space we are in is one of my personal domains. Within this domain, I rule supreme. I can control and even customize all that happens here. It would take another god intruding into this space to challenge me. Which is why you should not have been able to dodge and then resist my reincarnation orbs earlier... I don't know how to define you. You are clearly a mortal but have done something only a god exerting their power should be capable of. You should count yourself lucky that I am showing you mercy by giving you the chance to reforge your fate rather than treat you as an enemy spy."
A burst of power pushed its way through Alex as the old man placed his palm on the young man's forehead.
"Going back to godly domains. Normally, mortals could not hope to ever step foot in a god's domain without invitation. The usual pattern is that a mortal dies and his or her soul if claimed by a god, is taken by the deity to their domain for whatever purpose they wish. As you have seen, souls can give power to those who know how to harness them. As a mortal lives and worships a god, the god can use their devotion as a form of power. This can continue after the mortal's death and it is easiest to control a willing soul. This is the biggest reason why gods want mortals to be loyal followers. So they can claim their worship and take their souls to a secure location before another god comes along to try and claim them for themselves."
Alex felt like he was on fire from within his body. It burned from within the marrow of his bones and even deeper beyond his physical body. The fire didn't hurt. Instead, it felt like a constant crackling flame spreading and growing from within him. Alex had no idea what was happening but the sensation didn't feel wrong for some reason. He found that he could still pay attention to the old man's ramblings.
"Naturally wars have been fought over souls for power. This is not unlike a wrestling match between two people fighting over batteries during a big sale back on Earth." The old man laughed before his face turned serious.
"You have already taken some wayward soul fragments from Earth. There was the risk that you'd have drawn the attention of other soul collectors and gotten into a fight but this was unlikely as you were just gathering small fragments here and there. If you'd gone to a hospital and tried to grab a more complete soul, there could have been some real trouble. If you ever go back to Earth on your free time, keep this in mind and try to stick to populations that tolerate multiple religions as these locations are often treated as neutral ground. Don't try to take the soul of anyone already claimed by a god... That is unless you are confident that you could overpower that god and any of their friends. You don't want to start a war you can't win." The old man paused as he remembered past events. "There have been enough wars between gods already. There's no need to go starting them over a few souls."
The old man stopped talking and lowered his sight to the ground a bit ahead of him with a frown as he became lost in thought. Alex could see there was something that still weighed on the old man's shoulders.
"I've gone off topic. You shouldn't be in the position to start gathering your own worshipers for a long time... Ah... Where was I?... Ah well, I'll just tell you this. I won't be able to make you a god with just the power you have now. I don't know how you dodged and resisted my reincarnation orbs before but that act has earned you the chance I am giving you. You will be akin to a demigod. A weak one but a demigod all the same. You will be able to survive entering places and beholding things that normal mortals would be destroyed by." The old man sighed as he remembered a mortal lover that had been obliterated by the power he exuded in his true form.
"You might think this new found status and power will bring you new freedom. You will be freer than a mere mortal but you will also be stepping into realms of a new order of power with complications and limitations of their own. Even if you hide under the deepest rock you can find, there will come a time that you will be dragged into power struggles." The old man pulled at his beard. "Hmm, you would be anyway as a mortal but as a demigod, you'll at least be able to witness or participate at the level of the gods."
Alex was now floating in the air with a straight back while his arms and legs were spread as seen in a famous Leonardo Da Vinci drawing. The old man circled around him and sometimes just spun Alex this way and that instead. Wherever the old man touched, a surge of searing power suffused into Alex and made some changes.
"Come to think of it, since you've become involved with me, you are already caught up in a power struggle. When I am done working on you, I will give you a choice. Work for me and continue growing stronger or return to being a mere mortal."
The old man stopped in front of Alex and looked him in the eyes.
"I should warn you. If you return to being a mortal again and still repeatedly appear in front of me, I will do my best to get rid of you. I will probably take your soul, without reincarnating you, to a realm where you will contribute power just like a battery. You would have no choice but to continue to exist as a soul to forever wander the lands you end up in. This would be your afterlife."
He started walking around Alex again after giving his warning.
"If you choose to work for me though, you may eventually become powerful enough to stand as an equal to the other gods and perhaps even be able to claim or create a world of your own. This brings us back to the topic of other worlds and domains controlled by various gods. When a god creates their own domain from scratch, it takes more power than most gods have. This is without even making a planet capable of supporting life mind you. Some gods band together to create their world with their own set of rules under their complete control." The old man *Humphed* in irritation at a memory. "Under their control until another god invades that is but that's another topic."
The old man took a deep breath and breathed out slowly before he continued.
"I am almost far enough along for the process to complete itself. This is going more smoothly than I expected. Ah, got sidetracked again... Going back, remember how I told you some gods create artificial souls?"
He looked Alex in the eye again.
"From the look of confusion on your face, I'd say not." The old man looked away shaking his head as he began circling Alex again. "Artificial souls are made in a similar way as how your system, Angel, was made. In fact, she is an artificial soul of a sort too."
The old man held up a transparent orb that shined with geometric designs and gears throughout it.
"A simple system like Angel is little more than a semi-sentient helper of sorts. She doesn't have a body of her own and depends on your own stockpile of experience to learn, grow and function. She could be considered an artificial soul that was grafted onto your own. The problem is, you don't get any power from her. Not yet at least. As she grows with a human host she may someday become sentient enough to be considered a complete soul on her own and then she probably could provide you with some power. However, this would take a significant amount of time but is sped up a great deal by having close contact with a natural soul to learn from. Other artificial souls without such a... human connection tend to function as little more than automatons. If they ever grow into complete souls within a useful period of time, it could be considered a miracle. Even more so if they possessed sane minds."
The old man let himself be captivated by the glowing orb for a bit before he put it away.
"So, other than for handling chores and pouring drinks, there is little practical use for a god to populate their territory that they created and maintain at great cost, with artificial souls. So these creator gods look for natural and mature souls to fill their world with. That is where I come in. I wasn't always a soul trader but I have a connection to some prime real estate. Earth can be considered a jewel among the other planets. It is a populous world filled with souls that can even create or draw in new souls all on its own."
The old man scratched his bearded cheek in frustration.
"As much as most gods want to, it is beyond us to actually create a mature natural soul without giving up a part of ourselves and weakening our power. And these children of ours could very well be born as gods themselves which would be the same as creating our own competition. Hopefully, our kids would become our allies but that isn't always the case."
"They can be so much trouble..." The old man grumbled under his breath. "Love between gods can be such a beautiful evil."
"It seems that only mortals can copulate and draw in a new soul so simply. It is probably because mortals are closer in their form of existence to the echoes of will which new souls seem to come from. Some gods actually take the less mature souls in their keeping and seed them into the babies formed from mortal unions. Others experiment with the echoes of will bouncing around the Aither. Even I've tried forcing these echoes together but have only succeeded in creating an artificial soul at best and it cost me a great deal of power at that. In the end, it was mostly my own soul that went into its creation and I got nothing but frustration from them." He shook his head. "It is best to leave the difficult work to those best suited for it."
If Angel could speak at this moment she would have laughed in the old man's face after pointing out the number of times he had copulated with a mortal and made a natural soul whether by accident or not.
*cough* *cough* The old man seemed to sense the faint ripples of criticism and coughed twice before he continued, "Every time a god like me tries to get close to the vapor of will bouncing around, we seem to disrupt the echoes with our presence and evaporate them with our power. Some gods go through the trouble of absorbing these primordial traces of will but there are better ways to gain power."
"As a soul trader, I take unclaimed souls from Earth, which is overflowing with them, and sell them to gods that need more. That is what I was doing when you appeared before me and that is what I will be asking your help with depending on the choice you make. More specifically, I will be sending you into domains to collect as many souls and soul fragments as you can get. If a god like me was to intrude upon some of these domains it could start a war. You, however, are merely a mortal with the potential to become a god. As a demigod, there is a chance you can be sent in without the ruling gods knowing. This is not without its risks. At worst your soul may be captured and subjected to whatever torments your captor chooses but based on how you've kept returning to me even under the nose of an angry god, I'd say you have a very good chance to escape scot-free from most situations."
The old man saw the look Alex was giving him.
"Why would I make you take such a risk? For the same reason I didn't just give you some of the soul fragments I've already collected. As I said before, being involved with me automatically involves you in a power struggle between gods and the power from souls and fragments are in constant demand.
Besides, I won't be sending you to gods that can actually pose a threat to me so relax. Any war they wish to wage against me will just give me the excuse to take more of their precious power away."
The old man flexed his biceps with a grin.
"It's been a while since I last had a good fight. Hmm... while you're not out gathering soul fragments for me, you'll be living with me. At least until I can figure out some other arrangement. Ah, that's right, I forgot to tell you about the god commons."
The old man looked directly into Alex's eyes.
"Above all the planets, dimensions, and gods' domains, there is a higher plane of existence we just call the god commons. Other groups of gods might call it by other names or even claim that their domain is higher still. Just ignore this rubbish. I've never met a being powerful enough to make such claims and be right. You can't even be considered a true god until you've stepped foot on its ground, breathed its air and eaten the land's food."
Alex stared really hard at the old man as if criticizing him for the casual way he dropped such important information.
"You're still not able to move more than your eyes? Give your soul some time. It will adapt."
The old man paced for a few laps as he thought about various things before he turned back to Alex.
"You know, you haven't even distinguished yourself. You're not an epic hero and nobody sings songs about you. As far as I can tell, you weren't famous back on Earth. Some gods would argue that you haven't earned the right to enter the god commons and could cause a great deal of trouble for both you and me if they found out I was bending the rules."
The old man looked closer at Alex.
"Yes, there. You are ready for the final touches. I'm going to envelop you within my power as I guide the final steps. You should be able to talk again in just a moment."
The old man's outline blurred and Alex could no longer sense his own body's physical form. He found himself in a place where bright light obscured everything when the old man's voice rang out.
"I wonder if you'll acquire a special power. Some gods develop specialized abilities based on their affinities when their soul undergoes a major change."
"You mean a superpower?" Alex asked in surprise.
"Exactly. You would even be able to use this superpower in the god commons which would give you an advantage against the gods without such powers. Now, think of the power you'd want to have and brace yourself as I finish reinforcing your soul."
Alex only had a moment to recall all the magic and superhero powers he knew of when his whole being rippled and vibrated from within for a moment.
"There all done Alex. How do you feel?"
"..."
"Well?"
"I don't feel much different. Am I supposed to feel super strong or all-powerful or something?"
"Haha, each soul is different so who knows for certain what you should experience... Now, do you remember the choice I gave you?"
"... To work for you as your assistant or as a battery right?"
"That's right. But there is another option since you've now become a demigod. I could split apart your soul and send you back to Earth or wherever again as a mortal while keeping the remaining divine fragment for myself. This should break the odd bond between us and allow you to live a normal life. Now... what do you choose?"
Alex already had plenty of time to consider his choices and even with the new third option, he didn't waver in what he'd already decided.
"I'm going to see where this rabbit hole leads to. I want to help you collect soul fragments and experience the freedom that being a god will bring me."
"Are you sure about this?" The old man asked once again just to for the sake of formality.
"Yeah. It's what I want to do."
"Wouldn't you rather live a normal life, find a lovely wife and have kids?"
"Maybe someday. But for now, I can't imagine giving up this kind of freedom."
"Sometimes we erase or block out a person's memory so they can start a new life. Wouldn't this make it easier for you? I can let you forget about all of this so you can move on and live properly. Should I do so for you?"
"Nah. Even if I forgot everything here, I bet I'd feel like something is missing. I'd probably feel trapped as if my life doesn't have the meaning I want it to have."
*sighs* The old man sighed as he thought about all the things Alex would be getting himself into. "Alright. But I'm warning you, if we do this you absolutely CAN NOT GET CAUGHT! Because if you do, it is both of our as*es on the line."
"What would they do? Kill us?"
"With that attitude, I may just save them the trouble."
"I'm just kidding! Relax, I'll do my part properly. I promise."
A short silence passed between them before the old man spoke again.
"Alright let's get started."
The white space blurred and gained color as a modest room with cobbled stone and stuccoed walls came into view. The tiled floor was cleared away in the center where Alex and the old man stood. Around the edges of the room were messy stacks of books and scrolls and a desk could be seen in the corner to the left of Alex and behind the old man. As Alex looked over at the desk, his brain went blank because behind the desk sat a young and cheerful looking goddess. She was sitting there gazing in their direction with her chin in her hands as if she'd already been watching them for a long time. When she noticed Alex looking at her, she sat straight up and her cheeks lost the battle against the devious smile playfully spreading along her lips while she opened her mouth.
"Hello uncle Zeus! Who is this handsome young man?"
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
***
This Chapter picks the story back up from when Alex left Chuck's body back on Earth.
***
When Alex reappeared in the white space, the old man was ready and waiting for him.
"Welcome back. How did your soul searching go?" The old man asked with a grin as he gestured with his hand for Alex to approach.
[Is this for real? Is he actually happy to see me? We didn't enter the wrong dimension did we?] Alex asked Angel.
["Don't keep him waiting. You should walk over to him."] She replied.
As Alex walked forward the old man raised his other hand with his palm facing Alex and froze him in place.
[What's going on? Why can't I move? What's he doing to me?] Alex could only voice out his concerns inside his head but even Angel seemed to be frozen.
"I'll just tinker with your soul a little." The old man said before he noticed the worried look in Alex's eyes and laughed.
"Relax, I am only beginning the process of purifying and reinforcing your soul." The old man saw the anxiety on Alex's face and began to tell him about the bigger picture as he worked.
"I should probably teach you a bit about what to expect in your future as a demigod. As you have probably already guessed, the world you knew as Earth is but one planet among many. You have been to many different worlds and seen some interesting things right?" He said as if he was remembering something from a very long time ago that evoked a quaint feeling.
"This may not make much sense to you yet, but listen and try your best to absorb what I'll be telling you." The old man stopped to peer at Alex as if checking for his understanding before he continued.
"There are many beings out there that a mortal man could call a god. Some gods have taken a planet for themselves and claim dominion over all the souls that reside on it. Others build their own domains and create artificial souls or import natural souls from elsewhere to populate their fabricated plane of existence. If it helps you understand, you could assign levels or ranks to these dimensions. If you take Earth as the base or ground level domain then a god such as me could create another realm that hangs over Earth but as a separate connected dimension. Really, I could create a domain however I wished on Earth."
The old man gestured to the blank space surrounding them.
"In fact, this white space we are in is one of my personal domains. Within this domain, I rule supreme. I can control and even customize all that happens here. It would take another god intruding into this space to challenge me. Which is why you should not have been able to dodge and then resist my reincarnation orbs earlier... I don't know how to define you. You are clearly a mortal but have done something only a god exerting their power should be capable of. You should count yourself lucky that I am showing you mercy by giving you the chance to reforge your fate rather than treat you as an enemy spy."
A burst of power pushed its way through Alex as the old man placed his palm on the young man's forehead.
"Going back to godly domains. Normally, mortals could not hope to ever step foot in a god's domain without invitation. The usual pattern is that a mortal dies and his or her soul if claimed by a god, is taken by the deity to their domain for whatever purpose they wish. As you have seen, souls can give power to those who know how to harness them. As a mortal lives and worships a god, the god can use their devotion as a form of power. This can continue after the mortal's death and it is easiest to control a willing soul. This is the biggest reason why gods want mortals to be loyal followers. So they can claim their worship and take their souls to a secure location before another god comes along to try and claim them for themselves."
Alex felt like he was on fire from within his body. It burned from within the marrow of his bones and even deeper beyond his physical body. The fire didn't hurt. Instead, it felt like a constant crackling flame spreading and growing from within him. Alex had no idea what was happening but the sensation didn't feel wrong for some reason. He found that he could still pay attention to the old man's ramblings.
"Naturally wars have been fought over souls for power. This is not unlike a wrestling match between two people fighting over batteries during a big sale back on Earth." The old man laughed before his face turned serious.
"You have already taken some wayward soul fragments from Earth. There was the risk that you'd have drawn the attention of other soul collectors and gotten into a fight but this was unlikely as you were just gathering small fragments here and there. If you'd gone to a hospital and tried to grab a more complete soul, there could have been some real trouble. If you ever go back to Earth on your free time, keep this in mind and try to stick to populations that tolerate multiple religions as these locations are often treated as neutral ground. Don't try to take the soul of anyone already claimed by a god... That is unless you are confident that you could overpower that god and any of their friends. You don't want to start a war you can't win." The old man paused as he remembered past events. "There have been enough wars between gods already. There's no need to go starting them over a few souls."
The old man stopped talking and lowered his sight to the ground a bit ahead of him with a frown as he became lost in thought. Alex could see there was something that still weighed on the old man's shoulders.
"I've gone off topic. You shouldn't be in the position to start gathering your own worshipers for a long time... Ah... Where was I?... Ah well, I'll just tell you this. I won't be able to make you a god with just the power you have now. I don't know how you dodged and resisted my reincarnation orbs before but that act has earned you the chance I am giving you. You will be akin to a demigod. A weak one but a demigod all the same. You will be able to survive entering places and beholding things that normal mortals would be destroyed by." The old man sighed as he remembered a mortal lover that had been obliterated by the power he exuded in his true form.
"You might think this new found status and power will bring you new freedom. You will be freer than a mere mortal but you will also be stepping into realms of a new order of power with complications and limitations of their own. Even if you hide under the deepest rock you can find, there will come a time that you will be dragged into power struggles." The old man pulled at his beard. "Hmm, you would be anyway as a mortal but as a demigod, you'll at least be able to witness or participate at the level of the gods."
Alex was now floating in the air with a straight back while his arms and legs were spread as seen in a famous Leonardo Da Vinci drawing. The old man circled around him and sometimes just spun Alex this way and that instead. Wherever the old man touched, a surge of searing power suffused into Alex and made some changes.
"Come to think of it, since you've become involved with me, you are already caught up in a power struggle. When I am done working on you, I will give you a choice. Work for me and continue growing stronger or return to being a mere mortal."
The old man stopped in front of Alex and looked him in the eyes.
"I should warn you. If you return to being a mortal again and still repeatedly appear in front of me, I will do my best to get rid of you. I will probably take your soul, without reincarnating you, to a realm where you will contribute power just like a battery. You would have no choice but to continue to exist as a soul to forever wander the lands you end up in. This would be your afterlife."
He started walking around Alex again after giving his warning.
"If you choose to work for me though, you may eventually become powerful enough to stand as an equal to the other gods and perhaps even be able to claim or create a world of your own. This brings us back to the topic of other worlds and domains controlled by various gods. When a god creates their own domain from scratch, it takes more power than most gods have. This is without even making a planet capable of supporting life mind you. Some gods band together to create their world with their own set of rules under their complete control." The old man *Humphed* in irritation at a memory. "Under their control until another god invades that is but that's another topic."
The old man took a deep breath and breathed out slowly before he continued.
"I am almost far enough along for the process to complete itself. This is going more smoothly than I expected. Ah, got sidetracked again... Going back, remember how I told you some gods create artificial souls?"
He looked Alex in the eye again.
"From the look of confusion on your face, I'd say not." The old man looked away shaking his head as he began circling Alex again. "Artificial souls are made in a similar way as how your system, Angel, was made. In fact, she is an artificial soul of a sort too."
The old man held up a transparent orb that shined with geometric designs and gears throughout it.
"A simple system like Angel is little more than a semi-sentient helper of sorts. She doesn't have a body of her own and depends on your own stockpile of experience to learn, grow and function. She could be considered an artificial soul that was grafted onto your own. The problem is, you don't get any power from her. Not yet at least. As she grows with a human host she may someday become sentient enough to be considered a complete soul on her own and then she probably could provide you with some power. However, this would take a significant amount of time but is sped up a great deal by having close contact with a natural soul to learn from. Other artificial souls without such a... human connection tend to function as little more than automatons. If they ever grow into complete souls within a useful period of time, it could be considered a miracle. Even more so if they possessed sane minds."
The old man let himself be captivated by the glowing orb for a bit before he put it away.
"So, other than for handling chores and pouring drinks, there is little practical use for a god to populate their territory that they created and maintain at great cost, with artificial souls. So these creator gods look for natural and mature souls to fill their world with. That is where I come in. I wasn't always a soul trader but I have a connection to some prime real estate. Earth can be considered a jewel among the other planets. It is a populous world filled with souls that can even create or draw in new souls all on its own."
The old man scratched his bearded cheek in frustration.
"As much as most gods want to, it is beyond us to actually create a mature natural soul without giving up a part of ourselves and weakening our power. And these children of ours could very well be born as gods themselves which would be the same as creating our own competition. Hopefully, our kids would become our allies but that isn't always the case."
"They can be so much trouble..." The old man grumbled under his breath. "Love between gods can be such a beautiful evil."
"It seems that only mortals can copulate and draw in a new soul so simply. It is probably because mortals are closer in their form of existence to the echoes of will which new souls seem to come from. Some gods actually take the less mature souls in their keeping and seed them into the babies formed from mortal unions. Others experiment with the echoes of will bouncing around the Aither. Even I've tried forcing these echoes together but have only succeeded in creating an artificial soul at best and it cost me a great deal of power at that. In the end, it was mostly my own soul that went into its creation and I got nothing but frustration from them." He shook his head. "It is best to leave the difficult work to those best suited for it."
If Angel could speak at this moment she would have laughed in the old man's face after pointing out the number of times he had copulated with a mortal and made a natural soul whether by accident or not.
*cough* *cough* The old man seemed to sense the faint ripples of criticism and coughed twice before he continued, "Every time a god like me tries to get close to the vapor of will bouncing around, we seem to disrupt the echoes with our presence and evaporate them with our power. Some gods go through the trouble of absorbing these primordial traces of will but there are better ways to gain power."
"As a soul trader, I take unclaimed souls from Earth, which is overflowing with them, and sell them to gods that need more. That is what I was doing when you appeared before me and that is what I will be asking your help with depending on the choice you make. More specifically, I will be sending you into domains to collect as many souls and soul fragments as you can get. If a god like me was to intrude upon some of these domains it could start a war. You, however, are merely a mortal with the potential to become a god. As a demigod, there is a chance you can be sent in without the ruling gods knowing. This is not without its risks. At worst your soul may be captured and subjected to whatever torments your captor chooses but based on how you've kept returning to me even under the nose of an angry god, I'd say you have a very good chance to escape scot-free from most situations."
The old man saw the look Alex was giving him.
"Why would I make you take such a risk? For the same reason I didn't just give you some of the soul fragments I've already collected. As I said before, being involved with me automatically involves you in a power struggle between gods and the power from souls and fragments are in constant demand.
Besides, I won't be sending you to gods that can actually pose a threat to me so relax. Any war they wish to wage against me will just give me the excuse to take more of their precious power away."
The old man flexed his biceps with a grin.
"It's been a while since I last had a good fight. Hmm... while you're not out gathering soul fragments for me, you'll be living with me. At least until I can figure out some other arrangement. Ah, that's right, I forgot to tell you about the god commons."
The old man looked directly into Alex's eyes.
"Above all the planets, dimensions, and gods' domains, there is a higher plane of existence we just call the god commons. Other groups of gods might call it by other names or even claim that their domain is higher still. Just ignore this rubbish. I've never met a being powerful enough to make such claims and be right. You can't even be considered a true god until you've stepped foot on its ground, breathed its air and eaten the land's food."
Alex stared really hard at the old man as if criticizing him for the casual way he dropped such important information.
"You're still not able to move more than your eyes? Give your soul some time. It will adapt."
The old man paced for a few laps as he thought about various things before he turned back to Alex.
"You know, you haven't even distinguished yourself. You're not an epic hero and nobody sings songs about you. As far as I can tell, you weren't famous back on Earth. Some gods would argue that you haven't earned the right to enter the god commons and could cause a great deal of trouble for both you and me if they found out I was bending the rules."
The old man looked closer at Alex.
"Yes, there. You are ready for the final touches. I'm going to envelop you within my power as I guide the final steps. You should be able to talk again in just a moment."
The old man's outline blurred and Alex could no longer sense his own body's physical form. He found himself in a place where bright light obscured everything when the old man's voice rang out.
"I wonder if you'll acquire a special power. Some gods develop specialized abilities based on their affinities when their soul undergoes a major change."
"You mean a superpower?" Alex asked in surprise.
"Exactly. You would even be able to use this superpower in the god commons which would give you an advantage against the gods without such powers. Now, think of the power you'd want to have and brace yourself as I finish reinforcing your soul."
Alex only had a moment to recall all the magic and superhero powers he knew of when his whole being rippled and vibrated from within for a moment.
"There all done Alex. How do you feel?"
"..."
"Well?"
"I don't feel much different. Am I supposed to feel super strong or all-powerful or something?"
"Haha, each soul is different so who knows for certain what you should experience... Now, do you remember the choice I gave you?"
"... To work for you as your assistant or as a battery right?"
"That's right. But there is another option since you've now become a demigod. I could split apart your soul and send you back to Earth or wherever again as a mortal while keeping the remaining divine fragment for myself. This should break the odd bond between us and allow you to live a normal life. Now... what do you choose?"
Alex already had plenty of time to consider his choices and even with the new third option, he didn't waver in what he'd already decided.
"I'm going to see where this rabbit hole leads to. I want to help you collect soul fragments and experience the freedom that being a god will bring me."
"Are you sure about this?" The old man asked once again just to for the sake of formality.
"Yeah. It's what I want to do."
"Wouldn't you rather live a normal life, find a lovely wife and have kids?"
"Maybe someday. But for now, I can't imagine giving up this kind of freedom."
"Sometimes we erase or block out a person's memory so they can start a new life. Wouldn't this make it easier for you? I can let you forget about all of this so you can move on and live properly. Should I do so for you?"
"Nah. Even if I forgot everything here, I bet I'd feel like something is missing. I'd probably feel trapped as if my life doesn't have the meaning I want it to have."
*sighs* The old man sighed as he thought about all the things Alex would be getting himself into. "Alright. But I'm warning you, if we do this you absolutely CAN NOT GET CAUGHT! Because if you do, it is both of our as*es on the line."
"What would they do? Kill us?"
"With that attitude, I may just save them the trouble."
"I'm just kidding! Relax, I'll do my part properly. I promise."
A short silence passed between them before the old man spoke again.
"Alright let's get started."
The white space blurred and gained color as a modest room with cobbled stone and stuccoed walls came into view. The tiled floor was cleared away in the center where Alex and the old man stood. Around the edges of the room were messy stacks of books and scrolls and a desk could be seen in the corner to the left of Alex and behind the old man. As Alex looked over at the desk, his brain went blank because behind the desk sat a young and cheerful looking goddess. She was sitting there gazing in their direction with her chin in her hands as if she'd already been watching them for a long time. When she noticed Alex looking at her, she sat straight up and her cheeks lost the battle against the devious smile playfully spreading along her lips while she opened her mouth.
"Hello uncle Zeus! Who is this handsome young man?"
***This Chapter picks the story back up from when Alex left Chuck's body back on Earth.***When Alex reappeared in the white space, the old man was ready and waiting for him."Welcome back. How did your soul searching go?" The old man asked with a grin as he gestured with his hand for Alex to approach.Is this for real? Is he actually happy to see me? We didn't enter the wrong dimension did we? Alex asked Angel."Don't keep him waiting. You should walk over to him." She replied.As Alex walked forward the old man raised his other hand with his palm facing Alex and froze him in place.What's going on? Why can't I move? What's he doing to me? Alex could only voice out his concerns inside his head but even Angel seemed to be frozen."I'll just tinker with your soul a little." The old man said before he noticed the worried look in Alex's eyes and laughed."Relax, I am only beginning the process of purifying and reinforcing your soul." The old man saw the anxiety on Alex's face and began to tell him about the bigger picture as he worked."I should probably teach you a bit about what to expect in your future as a demigod. As you have probably already guessed, the world you knew as Earth is but one planet among many. You have been to many different worlds and seen some interesting things right?" He said as if he was remembering something from a very long time ago that evoked a quaint feeling."This may not make much sense to you yet, but listen and try your best to absorb what I'll be telling you." The old man stopped to peer at Alex as if checking for his understanding before he continued."There are many beings out there that a mortal man could call a god. Some gods have taken a planet for themselves and claim dominion over all the souls that reside on it. Others build their own domains and create artificial souls or import natural souls from elsewhere to populate their fabricated plane of existence. If it helps you understand, you could assign levels or ranks to these dimensions. If you take Earth as the base or ground level domain then a god such as me could create another realm that hangs over Earth but as a separate connected dimension. Really, I could create a domain however I wished on Earth."The old man gestured to the blank space surrounding them."In fact, this white space we are in is one of my personal domains. Within this domain, I rule supreme. I can control and even customize all that happens here. It would take another god intruding into this space to challenge me. Which is why you should not have been able to dodge and then resist my reincarnation orbs earlier... I don't know how to define you. You are clearly a mortal but have done something only a god exerting their power should be capable of. You should count yourself lucky that I am showing you mercy by giving you the chance to reforge your fate rather than treat you as an enemy spy."A burst of power pushed its way through Alex as the old man placed his palm on the young man's forehead."Going back to godly domains. Normally, mortals could not hope to ever step foot in a god's domain without invitation. The usual pattern is that a mortal dies and his or her soul if claimed by a god, is taken by the deity to their domain for whatever purpose they wish. As you have seen, souls can give power to those who know how to harness them. As a mortal lives and worships a god, the god can use their devotion as a form of power. This can continue after the mortal's death and it is easiest to control a willing soul. This is the biggest reason why gods want mortals to be loyal followers. So they can claim their worship and take their souls to a secure location before another god comes along to try and claim them for themselves."Alex felt like he was on fire from within his body. It burned from within the marrow of his bones and even deeper beyond his physical body. The fire didn't hurt. Instead, it felt like a constant crackling flame spreading and growing from within him. Alex had no idea what was happening but the sensation didn't feel wrong for some reason. He found that he could still pay attention to the old man's ramblings."Naturally wars have been fought over souls for power. This is not unlike a wrestling match between two people fighting over batteries during a big sale back on Earth." The old man laughed before his face turned serious."You have already taken some wayward soul fragments from Earth. There was the risk that you'd have drawn the attention of other soul collectors and gotten into a fight but this was unlikely as you were just gathering small fragments here and there. If you'd gone to a hospital and tried to grab a more complete soul, there could have been some real trouble. If you ever go back to Earth on your free time, keep this in mind and try to stick to populations that tolerate multiple religions as these locations are often treated as neutral ground. Don't try to take the soul of anyone already claimed by a god... That is unless you are confident that you could overpower that god and any of their friends. You don't want to start a war you can't win." The old man paused as he remembered past events. "There have been enough wars between gods already. There's no need to go starting them over a few souls."The old man stopped talking and lowered his sight to the ground a bit ahead of him with a frown as he became lost in thought. Alex could see there was something that still weighed on the old man's shoulders."I've gone off topic. You shouldn't be in the position to start gathering your own worshipers for a long time... Ah... Where was I?... Ah well, I'll just tell you this. I won't be able to make you a god with just the power you have now. I don't know how you dodged and resisted my reincarnation orbs before but that act has earned you the chance I am giving you. You will be akin to a demigod. A weak one but a demigod all the same. You will be able to survive entering places and beholding things that normal mortals would be destroyed by." The old man sighed as he remembered a mortal lover that had been obliterated by the power he exuded in his true form."You might think this new found status and power will bring you new freedom. You will be freer than a mere mortal but you will also be stepping into realms of a new order of power with complications and limitations of their own. Even if you hide under the deepest rock you can find, there will come a time that you will be dragged into power struggles." The old man pulled at his beard. "Hmm, you would be anyway as a mortal but as a demigod, you'll at least be able to witness or participate at the level of the gods."Alex was now floating in the air with a straight back while his arms and legs were spread as seen in a famous Leonardo Da Vinci drawing. The old man circled around him and sometimes just spun Alex this way and that instead. Wherever the old man touched, a surge of searing power suffused into Alex and made some changes."Come to think of it, since you've become involved with me, you are already caught up in a power struggle. When I am done working on you, I will give you a choice. Work for me and continue growing stronger or return to being a mere mortal."The old man stopped in front of Alex and looked him in the eyes."I should warn you. If you return to being a mortal again and still repeatedly appear in front of me, I will do my best to get rid of you. I will probably take your soul, without reincarnating you, to a realm where you will contribute power just like a battery. You would have no choice but to continue to exist as a soul to forever wander the lands you end up in. This would be your afterlife."He started walking around Alex again after giving his warning."If you choose to work for me though, you may eventually become powerful enough to stand as an equal to the other gods and perhaps even be able to claim or create a world of your own. This brings us back to the topic of other worlds and domains controlled by various gods. When a god creates their own domain from scratch, it takes more power than most gods have. This is without even making a planet capable of supporting life mind you. Some gods band together to create their world with their own set of rules under their complete control." The old man *Humphed* in irritation at a memory. "Under their control until another god invades that is but that's another topic."The old man took a deep breath and breathed out slowly before he continued."I am almost far enough along for the process to complete itself. This is going more smoothly than I expected. Ah, got sidetracked again... Going back, remember how I told you some gods create artificial souls?"He looked Alex in the eye again."From the look of confusion on your face, I'd say not." The old man looked away shaking his head as he began circling Alex again. "Artificial souls are made in a similar way as how your system, Angel, was made. In fact, she is an artificial soul of a sort too."The old man held up a transparent orb that shined with geometric designs and gears throughout it."A simple system like Angel is little more than a semi-sentient helper of sorts. She doesn't have a body of her own and depends on your own stockpile of experience to learn, grow and function. She could be considered an artificial soul that was grafted onto your own. The problem is, you don't get any power from her. Not yet at least. As she grows with a human host she may someday become sentient enough to be considered a complete soul on her own and then she probably could provide you with some power. However, this would take a significant amount of time but is sped up a great deal by having close contact with a natural soul to learn from. Other artificial souls without such a... human connection tend to function as little more than automatons. If they ever grow into complete souls within a useful period of time, it could be considered a miracle. Even more so if they possessed sane minds."The old man let himself be captivated by the glowing orb for a bit before he put it away."So, other than for handling chores and pouring drinks, there is little practical use for a god to populate their territory that they created and maintain at great cost, with artificial souls. So these creator gods look for natural and mature souls to fill their world with. That is where I come in. I wasn't always a soul trader but I have a connection to some prime real estate. Earth can be considered a jewel among the other planets. It is a populous world filled with souls that can even create or draw in new souls all on its own."The old man scratched his bearded cheek in frustration."As much as most gods want to, it is beyond us to actually create a mature natural soul without giving up a part of ourselves and weakening our power. And these children of ours could very well be born as gods themselves which would be the same as creating our own competition. Hopefully, our kids would become our allies but that isn't always the case.""They can be so much trouble..." The old man grumbled under his breath. "Love between gods can be such a beautiful evil.""It seems that only mortals can copulate and draw in a new soul so simply. It is probably because mortals are closer in their form of existence to the echoes of will which new souls seem to come from. Some gods actually take the less mature souls in their keeping and seed them into the babies formed from mortal unions. Others experiment with the echoes of will bouncing around the Aither. Even I've tried forcing these echoes together but have only succeeded in creating an artificial soul at best and it cost me a great deal of power at that. In the end, it was mostly my own soul that went into its creation and I got nothing but frustration from them." He shook his head. "It is best to leave the difficult work to those best suited for it."If Angel could speak at this moment she would have laughed in the old man's face after pointing out the number of times he had copulated with a mortal and made a natural soul whether by accident or not.*cough* *cough* The old man seemed to sense the faint ripples of criticism and coughed twice before he continued, "Every time a god like me tries to get close to the vapor of will bouncing around, we seem to disrupt the echoes with our presence and evaporate them with our power. Some gods go through the trouble of absorbing these primordial traces of will but there are better ways to gain power.""As a soul trader, I take unclaimed souls from Earth, which is overflowing with them, and sell them to gods that need more. That is what I was doing when you appeared before me and that is what I will be asking your help with depending on the choice you make. More specifically, I will be sending you into domains to collect as many souls and soul fragments as you can get. If a god like me was to intrude upon some of these domains it could start a war. You, however, are merely a mortal with the potential to become a god. As a demigod, there is a chance you can be sent in without the ruling gods knowing. This is not without its risks. At worst your soul may be captured and subjected to whatever torments your captor chooses but based on how you've kept returning to me even under the nose of an angry god, I'd say you have a very good chance to escape scot-free from most situations."The old man saw the look Alex was giving him."Why would I make you take such a risk? For the same reason I didn't just give you some of the soul fragments I've already collected. As I said before, being involved with me automatically involves you in a power struggle between gods and the power from souls and fragments are in constant demand.Besides, I won't be sending you to gods that can actually pose a threat to me so relax. Any war they wish to wage against me will just give me the excuse to take more of their precious power away."The old man flexed his biceps with a grin."It's been a while since I last had a good fight. Hmm... while you're not out gathering soul fragments for me, you'll be living with me. At least until I can figure out some other arrangement. Ah, that's right, I forgot to tell you about the god commons."The old man looked directly into Alex's eyes."Above all the planets, dimensions, and gods' domains, there is a higher plane of existence we just call the god commons. Other groups of gods might call it by other names or even claim that their domain is higher still. Just ignore this rubbish. I've never met a being powerful enough to make such claims and be right. You can't even be considered a true god until you've stepped foot on its ground, breathed its air and eaten the land's food."Alex stared really hard at the old man as if criticizing him for the casual way he dropped such important information."You're still not able to move more than your eyes? Give your soul some time. It will adapt."The old man paced for a few laps as he thought about various things before he turned back to Alex."You know, you haven't even distinguished yourself. You're not an epic hero and nobody sings songs about you. As far as I can tell, you weren't famous back on Earth. Some gods would argue that you haven't earned the right to enter the god commons and could cause a great deal of trouble for both you and me if they found out I was bending the rules."The old man looked closer at Alex."Yes, there. You are ready for the final touches. I'm going to envelop you within my power as I guide the final steps. You should be able to talk again in just a moment."The old man's outline blurred and Alex could no longer sense his own body's physical form. He found himself in a place where bright light obscured everything when the old man's voice rang out."I wonder if you'll acquire a special power. Some gods develop specialized abilities based on their affinities when their soul undergoes a major change.""You mean a superpower?" Alex asked in surprise."Exactly. You would even be able to use this superpower in the god commons which would give you an advantage against the gods without such powers. Now, think of the power you'd want to have and brace yourself as I finish reinforcing your soul."Alex only had a moment to recall all the magic and superhero powers he knew of when his whole being rippled and vibrated from within for a moment."There all done Alex. How do you feel?""...""Well?""I don't feel much different. Am I supposed to feel super strong or all-powerful or something?""Haha, each soul is different so who knows for certain what you should experience... Now, do you remember the choice I gave you?""... To work for you as your assistant or as a battery right?""That's right. But there is another option since you've now become a demigod. I could split apart your soul and send you back to Earth or wherever again as a mortal while keeping the remaining divine fragment for myself. This should break the odd bond between us and allow you to live a normal life. Now... what do you choose?"Alex already had plenty of time to consider his choices and even with the new third option, he didn't waver in what he'd already decided."I'm going to see where this rabbit hole leads to. I want to help you collect soul fragments and experience the freedom that being a god will bring me.""Are you sure about this?" The old man asked once again just to for the sake of formality."Yeah. It's what I want to do.""Wouldn't you rather live a normal life, find a lovely wife and have kids?""Maybe someday. But for now, I can't imagine giving up this kind of freedom.""Sometimes we erase or block out a person's memory so they can start a new life. Wouldn't this make it easier for you? I can let you forget about all of this so you can move on and live properly. Should I do so for you?""Nah. Even if I forgot everything here, I bet I'd feel like something is missing. I'd probably feel trapped as if my life doesn't have the meaning I want it to have."*sighs* The old man sighed as he thought about all the things Alex would be getting himself into. "Alright. But I'm warning you, if we do this you absolutely CAN NOT GET CAUGHT! Because if you do, it is both of our as*es on the line.""What would they do? Kill us?""With that attitude, I may just save them the trouble.""I'm just kidding! Relax, I'll do my part properly. I promise."A short silence passed between them before the old man spoke again."Alright let's get started."The white space blurred and gained color as a modest room with cobbled stone and stuccoed walls came into view. The tiled floor was cleared away in the center where Alex and the old man stood. Around the edges of the room were messy stacks of books and scrolls and a desk could be seen in the corner to the left of Alex and behind the old man. As Alex looked over at the desk, his brain went blank because behind the desk sat a young and cheerful looking goddess. She was sitting there gazing in their direction with her chin in her hands as if she'd already been watching them for a long time. When she noticed Alex looking at her, she sat straight up and her cheeks lost the battle against the devious smile playfully spreading along her lips while she opened her mouth."Hello uncle Zeus! Who is this handsome young man?"
